Profits For Cigarette Seller in Ireland

A cigarette smuggler transporting 50,000 cigarettes to be sold on the black market would make a profit of $11,227 (€8,700) in Ireland. A van would hold ten times the amount of cigarettes, thus leading to a profit of $112,000. A shipping container can hold up to 7,500,000 black market cigarettes, giving the smuggler a $1.6 Million ( €1.3 Million) profit.

Legitimate packs of cigarettes are sold for $12.90 (10 Euros) a pack. Cigarettes sold by smugglers on the black market are sold for $5.1 (4 Euros) a pack.

Source: “Illegal trade costs State €860m in lost revenue,” Independent.ie, October 28, 2012.